Rit Capital Partners PLC Sells 45,100 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Rit Capital Partners PLC decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 45,100 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 5.7% of Rit Capital Partners PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Rit Capital Partners PLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $47,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Martin Currie Ltd. increased its position in Mastercard by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Martin Currie Ltd. now owns 157,479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $82,924,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,947,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,025,470,000 after buying an additional 24,790 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,160 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,983,000 after acquiring an additional 4,144 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Mastercard by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,965,409 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,034,925,000 after acquiring an additional 150,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Mastercard by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,940,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,021,588,000 after acquiring an additional 264,094 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MA. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 3.0 %

Mastercard stock opened at $540.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $550.58 and a 200-day moving average of $526.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.